UpTime, the Blog

Ask yourself the following questions about your backup practice:

1.  Are you backing up all the right files? (see below)

2.  How do you know that your backup is working?

3.  How often do you backup?

4.  Do you keep a copy offsite?

5.  How many redundant copies of the data are there?

6.  How secure is your backup from data breach?

7.  What is your backup process costing you (in both time & money)?

8.  Is your backup system vulnerable to “clobbering”? (i.e. a corrupted file
is backed up, thereby effectively removing the good version – or – a deleted file
results in deletion in the backup set too.

9.  Do you know the process to recover your data from the backup?

10.  Who would you contact if you needed help with your backup?

11.  If you lost your critical data -and- the data were not retrievable from backup,
what would be your recourse?

The answers will tell you, not only how well you’re doing at backing up, but also how well your backup system is helping (or hurting) you with the job. Don’t know the answers? – find out. Don’t like the answers? – call us – (301) 593-3131.

If you use your computer for work, especially if you run a small business, then chances are that there are many documents that you’d like to protect from loss and/or harm. Think about it:
    - contacts, client info
    - accounting data
    - email records
    - calendar / appointments
    - planning / tracking documents
    - advertising graphics
    - contracts, sales records, invoices, quotes, proposals, vendor receipts, etc.
    - legal documents
    - tax records
    - letterhead, form letters, labels, special-purpose forms, etc.
    - work in progress (writings, research, designs, outlines, ideas, etc.)

A leading cause of computer malfunction is hard drive failure. This is not good: (1) the computer will not work, (2) the hard drive, itself, usually can not be repaired and will need to be replaced, (3) the operating system and any other software (purchased or free) will need to be reinstalled on the new hard drive, (4) any data (i.e. documents, pictures, videos, music) may be lost or may be recoverable, but only at an exorbitant price. Hard drives have a failure rate of 3%-5% over three years.

Computer hard drives are indeed “marvels of modern technology”. At the time of this writing hard drives can be purchased with 3TB (3000GB) of data capacity. That’s enough to store over 600 full-length DVD movies. The first hard drives I encountered stored 20MB of data. You’d have needed to stack 50 of them to store 1GB. But hard drives still work the same basic way. Spinning metal plates store magnetic information. Read/write heads hover over the plates like the arm and needle of a record-player. The faster the plates spin, the faster you can get your data. The closer the heads hover, the denser the information can be packed.

Hard drives electro-mechanical devices of high complexity and small tolerances. As such, they are subject to electrical and mechanical failure. Mechanical devices all fail in time. It’s inevitable if only due to worn-out parts. The so-called “head crash” occurs when a read/write head impacts the metal plate that it’s designed to hover over. This can damage both the read/write head and the magnetic information stored on the plate. Almost always, it means it’s time for a new hard drive. A single piece of dust can cause a head crash. That’s why hard drives are manufactured (and worked on) in “clean rooms”.

Moving parts can also fail. Motors drive the spinning plates and servomotors move the read/write head back and forth many times each second. Complex electrical circuitry control the motions and makes sure that the data flows smoothly into and out from the hard drive. One could well rather ask “How did my hard drive function at all?”. Never drop or jar a hard drive – especially while it’s operating. Also, never cut power to your computer (e.g. by pulling the plug). Hard drives like to have some fair warning before they lose power.

Hard drive failure is a fact of life. Data loss need not be. Always keep in mind that any of your data worth keeping is worth backing up. Need help backing up? Give us a call. We’ll be glad to help. (301) 593-3131.

I’ve been repairing computers since 2004. I often hear comments to the effect of “I don’t want to pay alot – after all, a new PC is like $300″.  (It’s interesting that the amount hasn’t gone up or down by much in the last seven years.) In fact, researching for this article, I saw that Dell is offering its “everyday computing” desktop model starting at $299. Now, I like Dell’s desktops and I feel confident that Dell is offering a good computer at a good price. However, the naive comparison of repair cost to $300 misses a few important elements.

First, it must be said that the decision of whether to repair or buy new is always relevant and depends on many things, not least of which is the customer’s current level of satisfaction with the old computer. The cost of a given repair can and often does exceed the cost of a new computer, but the reverse is true just as often, if not more often.

What most people tend to overlook are the hidden costs of a new computer, not only in terms of dollars, but also in terms of time, labor, aggravation, and decreased comfort level. New shoes take some time until they’re broken in – so too a new computer.

Listed below are some of the hidden costs in buying a new computer.

(1) Product Search
Obviously, one wouldn’t want to buy the first $300 computer one sees. You may want something with similar (or more) capability than the computer you already have. In other words, you probably won’t be able to replace the computer than you bought four years ago at $850, today for $300. You could have bought a computer for $300 back then. Why did you go for the computer for $850? You should take into account the time you will spend online, at a store, or talking to a sales representative figuring out which computer you want – and there are always lots to choose from.

(2) Sticker Price
Don’t be surprised if, after you settle on the computer you plan to buy, the price turns out to be significantly higher than $300. You’ll probably want an upgrade from the minimum capability CPU and the minimum memory. You’ll probably want software which isn’t included in the baseline price (e.g. Microsoft Office, Quickbooks, anti-virus software). The Dell I looked at went from $300 to $650 after (just) upgrading CPU & memory, adding MS Office and anti-virus software. Don’t forget tax and/or shipping.

(3) Setup
Getting your new computer up and running the way you like it can take the better part of a day – if you know what you’re doing. Count on spending time (a) digging out, storing and/or  disposing of  the old computer, cables, etc, (b) unpacking the new computer, (c) plugging the new computer to power, keyboard, monitor, printer, network, etc, (d) the rigmarole in booting for the first time (e.g. “Preparing Desktop”, accepting EULAs, running Windows updates), (e) installing other software (e.g. Mozilla Firefox, PDF reader), (f) transferring important files from the old computer (e.g. documents, pictures, music), (g) making sure everything is functional (e.g. Internet, sound, etc.).

(4) Old Peripherals
Getting that old printer to work with your new computer may be automatic, impossible, or anywhere in between. These issues occasionally crop up, usually when least expected and least desired. You may need to buy special adapters, cables, batteries, or, in the worst case, a new peripheral device altogether.

(5) Unfamiliarity
Now that everything is all set up, things look a little different from what you’re used to – maybe a lot different. Where did the “My Computer” icon go? How do I turn on my wireless networking? How do I add page numbers to my  Word document? Count on some lost time figuring things out – or doing things bass-ackwards until you get the hang of Microsoft’s new way of doing things.

Look at how the estimated costs add up:
[We're charging time at $40/hr. The median US salary is $40K/yr.
Then, each employee probably costs at least double their salary due to benefits, utilities, admin, etc. That works out to $40/hr.]
new PC – $300
extras – $350
product search – $80 (based on 2 hours @ $40/hr.)
setup time – $240 (based on 5 hours @ $40/hr.)
loss of efficiency – $960 (based on 85% efficiency during 1st month
during work @ 40/hr.)
———————————————
TOTAL – $1930

These number are gross estimates, but we can easily see that $300 is just the tip of the iceberg. Even so, sometimes it will definitely pay to buy a new computer. Imagine running at 90% efficiency because of a slow, old computer, month after month. The cost there will quickly dwarf even our $2K estimate.

Just because you don’t see the costs on a price sticker doesn’t mean they’re not there.

There seems to be an epidemic these days of viruses, trojans, rootkits, and the like.  While the signs of infection can range from obvious to obscure, everybody wants to know how they got infected and what they can do to prevent it in the future. Narrowing down the precise culprit, however, can be as difficult as figuring out exactly where you picked up your last cold. Here are some clues & protective measures.

(1) No Firewall
A good firewall is the first line of defense.  Without an firewall running on your system, your computer can be infected by just about any other computer on the Internet. In fact, many computers spend all their time just looking for susceptible computers on the web to infect (many are themselves infected). Most new computers have a firewall turned on by default, but it’s not uncommon for previously infected computers to be compromised by having their defenses deactivated.

(2) No Anti-Virus Software
If you’re not running anti-virus software, then you’re basically looking for trouble. Even though such software is never 100% effective, it’s a world of difference from no protection at all. And – no!, not all anti-virus software is created equal. Some are more effective and some will slow down your machine. I heartily recommend NOD32 from ESET systems. Viruses can enter your computer from an infected file from a flash memory device , by downloading an infected file from the web, or as an infected email attachment.

(3) Infected Web Sites
Yes, you can be infected just by browsing to an infected web site. These infected sites can be very innocuous-looking. Beware especially of links in emails pointing you to infected sites and links from image-search sites (like Google’s).

(4) Infected Software
Of course, downloading and running software can infect your computer. Not all software is 100% legitimate, and even some software products that claim to be trojan-free (and may very well be trojan-free) are strongly correlated with infections. For example, a peer-to-peer software package may itself be clean, but may facilitate infection and proceed to infect its “peers”. Read the license agreement for the software. It may state explicitly that the software manufacturer reserves the right to install additional software automatically, collect usage information, web sites visited, etc. If unsure, do a web search on the software in concert with key words, for example:  “remove”, “scam”, and “virus”.

(5) Infected Email
Opening an infected email can infect your computer. Furthermore, such infections like to use your contact list to infect all everyone of your contacts’ computers as well. Therefore, be careful, even regarding email from friends, relatives, and colleagues. Be especially careful of emails claiming that some shipping company wasn’t able to deliver a package. Often, emails will pose as requests from vendors (e.g. banks, phone companies, etc.) to verify information, reset passwords, etc. The email itself may not be infected, but following the instructions could infect your computer and/or result in your identity being stolen. Be careful also of emails that contain offers that seem too good to be true; they usually are. Don’t use your hard-earned money to support the lifestyles of con men.

(6) Opening Attachments
Unless you’re expecting a particular attachment from a particular person, be very wary of attachments.  For example, “list-of-attendees.doc” from the conference organizer is probably safe. “funny-video.exe”, even if from a friend, is probably not. When in doubt, contact the friend before opening. Be especially wary of files that end with “exe” or “bat”.

(7) Clicking on Popups
If a window pops up unexpectedly, then there’s a chance that you may already have been infected – but not always. Never click on anything on the window. Clicking on the pop-up will  often allow an infection to entrench itself well into the system. I recommend not even clicking on the “X” to close the window. Use the Task Manager to kill the process or just reboot your computer. Then do a virus check.

(8) Not Installing Windows Updates
Yes, Windows updates can be a pain, but often the updates are security-related. The people who design malware are quick to take advantage of known security holes, knowing that it will take some time before people get around to installing the patches. A stitch in time…

Even though it may sound scary, don’t avoid the web because of the scoundrels out there. Keep your defenses strong, keep your eyes open, and use common sense.

I’m very fond of Excel and I find Excel’s conditional formatting feature to be extremely helpful for many aspects of spreadsheet management. Now, the formatting available includes such things as italics, bold, font color, font size, etc., but the one I use predominantly is to change the background color to make specific cells stand out. The other options can be used to dress up a spreadsheet, but the colors can make the utilization of a spreadsheet lots more effective. Here are some of the main ways that conditional formatting is very useful.

(1) Color-code cells by value alone
For example, I deal with two banks.  It’s many times handy to be able to spot bank transactions instantly on my transactions spreadsheet. I can easily code cells with values of “Big Bank” and “Small Bank” to a certain color. The rule used is =OR(E4 = “Big Bank”, E4 = “Huge Bank”)

I can also code with multiple colors. Here, I also code Ollard’s.

Note how much easier it is now to single out the Ollard’s entries by eye.

(2) Color-code cells by reference to another cell, typed when needed.

Note how this invites use of formatting to be able to see selected values quickly. We can easily highlight certain dates as the following example shows. The formula is =(I4 = $I$2)

By changing the date in the top cell, matching dates down below are automatically highlighted. See how apparent they become. This works well for searching when you don’t want to keep executing searches. You just want the found items singled out. It can be easily expanded to include such items as all dates in a particular month & year (specified in cell values) or all dollars amounts over a certain amount (again specified elsewhere).

(3) Value checking.

Another handy trick is to use color formatting to point out problematic values in the data. This can reduce erroneous data entry, a root cause of much lost time in dealing with spreadsheets. This also works great for checking whether values in two different columns are equal (or close enough), like in balance sheets. For example, in the spreadsheet below, I code an out-of-sequence date (probably due to a typo). The formula used for the following is simply =(I15 < I14)

(4) Color-code to alert to missing entries.

This leads to another handy use. Cells that ought to have data in them can be tagged and become easily visible as well. This aids the person entering data so that all the appropriate fields get filled in. (Otherwise, Excel assumes they’re zero.) Note the missing date in the spreadsheet below.

I use this one to highlight jobs where I haven’t yet been paid (no paid date), items that haven’t been inventoried (no inventory code), etc.

(5) Color-code explicitly through values in another column.

Rather than marking cells explicitly by changing, it is much easier to use conditional formatting and use cell values to determine the coloring. For example, we can mark cells the table below that might be erroneous (so highlight them for further action) by entering an “e” in the following column.  Then when the issue is resolved, simply clear the “e”. The formula here is =($G35 = “e”).

I use this one to mark purchased items that are still in stock. If the item is in stock, it gets a green background. This way I can see quickly whats in stock and what’s not – and I can change the status back and forth very easily.

(6) All together now.

Now we can put it all together and see how the spreadsheet comes alive. The bank entries are obvious. We can find the entry for 3/1/2001 without hardly trying. We see that there are possible issues with the PECO bill and the Huge Bank service fee. We see that the 5/4/2000 date is not chronological. And we see that we still need to enter the amount spent at Ollard’s on 3/23/2001.

I hope this is useful to you; be creative. Thanks for reading.

Is computer backup still important? Do you still need to floss your teeth?

Just like you only need to floss the teeth you want to keep, so too you only need to backup the computer files that you’d like to keep. Anything on your computer you’d like to keep? Photos? Music? Home movies? Contacts? Recipes? Tax information? Favorites? Email? Homework? Bookkeeping? Chances are that there’s something there that you don’t want to lose.. or have to recreate.. or even retype.  If there’s nothing on your computer that’s important to you, then you’re one of the lucky few. The rest of us have reason for concern.

Unfortunately, most people don’t know the best way to back up their “stuff”. As a result, they either do nothing, don’t do enough, do too much, or do the wrong things. What can go wrong? Let me count the ways.

(1) Do Nothing
This is known as the “head in the sand” approach. People do this when they would rather not think about an unpleasant situation. It’s more common than you might think.

“What will you do if your computer crashes and you lose all your stuff?”

“I’d rather not think about it.”

With so many backup options (some not very reliable, some that are complicated, some that cost money, some that are tedious, some too time-consuming, and some all of the above), many people simply opt out and hope that the specter of data loss will leave them alone.

(2) Memory Stick
This option is a little better than option (1), but not much so. These devices were never intended for backup storage. They tend to have much less capacity than traditional hard drives and are much slower. Furthermore, these devices have very real failure rates; and recovering data from them is more difficult than for other devices. Don’t ever keep your only copy of something on these. These devices are good for transferring small files from computer to computer. They now occupy the niche that used to be held by “floppy disks”. Anybody remember those?

(3) External Hard Drive – still in the box
I believe that external hard drives are the ideal device for personal computer backups. But they won’t do you any good sitting on the shelf.

(4) External Hard Drive – connected, idle, & blank
Yeah, just plugging the drive in won’t safeguard you. If it’s “one-button backup”, you’ll still need to press the button.

(5) Last backup – early 2007
Good job. You bought the drive and ran the backup – back in February of 2007. You’re done, right? Not quite. Unless you put something new on your computer only about every four years, you’ll want to run another backup every now and then.

(6) Current backup.. of the wrong files
Maybe the backup procedure wasn’t set up properly. Maybe you moved your files to a different folder. Maybe your latest work is in a location that isn’t being backed up. Maybe you didn’t realize that the backup software doesn’t save your emails. Whatever the case, your important files never made it to the backup. It’s good, though, that Aunt Minnie saved the photos of her hat into your My Pictures folder. At least those didn’t get lost. Arghhh!

(7) Current backup.. in HZH format
Your backup software has compressed all of your important files into one big .hzh file. Now you’ll need to reinstall your “HZH Backup Deluxe” software in order to be able to retrieve the files. You still have that install CD, right? Or did you download it from the web? Still got the license code they sent you in an email? Oh, that’s right, your email is inaccessible. Looks like it’s time to call HZH.  Dial or say “two” for technical support.

(8) Please insert Tape #2 and press Enter
Ever see a message like this in the middle of the data restore? So you say that you did the entire backup onto one DVD? That’s interesting.. but not relevant. If you ever want to see your data again, you’d better find that second tape – and pray it doesn’t ask for another. No rush though – your computer is happy to wait weeks, months even, for you to come up with that tape. All humor aside, the sad fact is that many restores from backup don’t work for one reason or another. Try to check your backups every so often. Do a trial run.

(9) “They stole the backup too!”
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Keep multiple backups. Keep backups far removed from your computer, preferably in a fireproof location and/or under lock & key. It’s best to rotate and stagger backups.

MyTouch 3G Slide

When Maryland passed the hand-held cell phone ban in 2010, I decided that it was time to trade in my old cell phone, which I hated. I couldn’t even dial a number without hitting a wrong key & I’d need to dial over. I needed a phone with Bluetooth capability so that I could use a hands-free device. I hadn’t intended to buy a smartphone; but, the more features I saw, the more I saw that I liked – and the more excited I got. This was not my father’s cell phone.

(1) GPS
Never get lost again. What’s not to like here. Ever been lost -and- stuck in heavy traffic at the same time? In my job I’m often calling on new clients, so it’s not unusual for me to need some help finding the right address. I love maps and I still use them, but there’s something to be said for knowing where you are on the map and which way you’re headed. Some advice: pull over the car before doing this one; don’t be scrolling and zooming the map while driving.

(2) Ringtones
Yes, I know that customizable ringtones predated smartphones; but, I didn’t want to pay for them and the music I wanted was never available. With my new phone I was able to download the track I wanted onto my phone & set it as the ringtone. My ringtone is unique. I’d be surprised if anyone on the planet uses the same one. Here are some hints: Two words. One’s a color, one’s a dance. It’s from a film soundtrack. Good luck.

(3) Pictures
I’ve never carried pictures of kids in my wallet and never intend to. With my phone I take their pictures. If I want to show anybody pictures, they’re there – and easier to get to than stashed and crumpled in my wallet. On a recent hike with my daughter, on a whim, I was able to take pictures of her and of the scenery. (And I knew where we were from the GPS). I hate taking cameras on trips. We have two good cameras in the house; I don’t know where they are.

(4) Alarm
I use the alarm to wake me in the morning now. I can put it where I need to get out of bed to turn it off (otherwise I “snooze”). There are several choices of alarm sounds so I can pick one that’s not too loud or jarring – but still recognizable as an alarm. I still don’t like getting up in the morning.

(5) Timer
I use the timer when I pay at a parking meter. I give myself about ten minutes to get back and pay the meter again. I’ve learned from experience that I can’t trust myself to remember to go back and pay again without a reminder.

(5) Bluetooth for hands-free conversation
That’s right, this is the original reason why I bought the phone. Aside from avoiding a ticket, this one could save somebody’s life – maybe mine. My clients seem to always call when (i) I’m driving, (ii) I’m about to take my first bite of lunch, (iii) I’m in the middle of talking to another client. That’s life.. but I can take calls now when I’m driving.

(7) Web
Like having the web in the palm of your hand. Well, not really. It’s really cumbersome to use, but not as cumbersome as driving home to look something up that I need right now – like a client’s phone number or the location of the nearest Joseph A. Bank store (true story).

(8) Phone
Yeah, every once in a while I call somebody on the phone with it.

Title Graphic from UpTime Newsletter

Uptime refers to the amount of time that a computer has been working and productive expressed either as a percentage (e.g. 99% uptime) or the time since the last boot (e.g. Uptime: 21 days 4 hours). Its opposite is downtime, the length or percentage of time that a computer is not available for use due to repairs or maintenance.

“Uptime” is the name we chose for the newsletter of H Street Business Solutions since part of our mission as a company is to maximize our clients’ productivity by making sure that their computers are kept in tip-top condition. We also strive to ensure that our clients get the most from their IT investment dollars and that they are able to utilize the technology that they invest in to the greatest extent possible. In the newsletter we’ve tried to give out helpful tips and advice so that our readers can get the most from technology. We intend to do the same now in blog format – thus “Uptime, the Blog”.